Package wrapping machine



June 10, 1958 c. R. masons 2,837,884

PACKAGE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 15. 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 EINVENTOR.

CHEST R R. GIBBONS ATTORNEY June 10, 1958 c. R. GIBBONS PACKAGE WRAPPINGmomma 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 13, 1955 m w ,mm 2 MG. I f, W R m m Sm m v. 8 4 A I I IZIL I Pu; I H a 37m 3 H i w y H wliwlm &2 Wm ira-n 43o) 0 U 1. 7 a 7 n l b W M 0 I m v 4 I l I I I I l l I I I I I llATTORNEY June 10, 1958 c. R. GIBBQNS v 2,837,884

PACKAGE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed D60. 13, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.CHESTER R. GIBBONS A T TORNE Y June 10, 1958 c. R. GIBBONS 3 PACKAGEWRAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 13, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR.CHESTER R. GIBBONS ATTORNEY hired; States PACKAGE WRAPPENG MACHINEChester R. Gibbons, Canfield, Ohio Application December 13, 1955, SerialNo. 552,818

6 Claims. ((153-1198) This invention relates; to a machine for wrappingpackages, cartons. a'ndthe likexwith adhesive tape so as to close andseal the same.

The principalobject of the invention is the provision of a machine thatwill automatically wrap: a package or cartonor the like with adhesivetape and cut off and apply the cut off end of the tape to-the carton toeffectively hold the'same in closed sealed relation.

and efficiently.

'A still further object of the invention is the provision :of a machinefor applying-adhesive to a carton to be closed thereby whichincorporates means for tensioning the tape prior to, during andfollowing application of the same to the, carton so that the tape istightly afiixed to the carton to properly hold the same.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a machinefor applying adhesive tape about a carton to close the same andincorporating means for automatically cutting oif the tape after thecarton has been wrapped and applying the cut off end of the tape inasubstantially overlapping manner with respect to the portion of the tapeinitially applied to the carton.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of amachine forwrapping packages, cartons; etc., with adhesive tape under tensionwhichwill operate rapidly and efiiciently and is capable of recycling withoutadjustment or other attention.

The machine for wrapping packages, cartons or the like with adhesivetape as disclosed herein comprises an improvement in the art of closingand securing cartons in particular such as pasteboard cartons in whichvarious merchandise is commonly packaged and shipped.

Such cartons have heretofore been commonlyclosed by hand and held inclosed and/ or sealed relation by the application'of gummed tape usuallyincorporating a water soluble adhesive and sometimes incorporatingpressure sensitive adhesive.

Such machines as have heretofore been proposed for wrapping a cartonwhileholding the same in properly closed and sealed position have beenunable to apply tightly wraps the closed. carton with adhesive tape-andapplies the tape to the carton in desired areas thereof and at the sametime overlapsthe ends of the tape applied a sufficient degree to insurethe proper retention of the tape thereon.

233L384 Patented June 10, 1958 line chosen for purposes of thedisclosure, which do not constitute departures from the function andscope of the invention. I

' The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 isa back plan viewof the package wrapping machine. I

Figure 2 is a vertical section .taken on line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed section taken on line 3-3 of'Figure 2.s

Figure 4 is an enlarged detailed section similar to Figure?showingprogressive, motion of the respective parts.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail taken on line 5-5 of Figure l.

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail similar to Figure 5 showing movement ofthe respective parts.

Figure 7' is an enlarged detail taken on line 7-7 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is an enlarged detail of a portion'of the tape feeding sectionof the machine of Figure 1 illustrating a modified tape applying sectioncomparable Withthat illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings.

By referring to the drawings and Figures land 2 in particular it will beseen that the package wrapping machine. comprises a base it; havingupstanding frame membiers-ll-il thereon and a transverse table-likesection il supported on said frame members 11-41. A protective cage 13is positioned on the base it} and extends upwardly and over therespective portions of the machine with the exception of oppositelydisplosed openings inthe front and back of the machine which permit acarton such as indicated by the letter C to be positioned on the table12 and moved into the otherwise enclosed operating area of the machine.

Two of the upstanding frame members 1i11 form vertically standing guidesdefining one side of the opening through the cage 13 and against whichthe side of the carton to be wrapped is presented. The verticallystanding guides of the upstanding frame members l1-i1 are flanged as atlid and theuppermost end of the same is offset as at 15 to supporta-vertically acting air cylinder and piston assembly 16, the pistonportion being integrally formed with a vertically moving pressure plate17.

The upstandingframe members 11-11 also support and position a circularframe 13 which mounts a ring gear 19 which in turn has a bracket 28thereon which carries a spindle 21 on which a roll 22 of adhesive tape Tis mounted. A portion of the bracket 2th is offset with respect to thespindle 21 and carries an idleryiili over which. the tape T extendingfrom the roll 22 is trained after leaving the roll of tape 22.

The base 10 supports a secondary base 2 5 which in turn mounts a drivingmotor 25' which is coupled to a gear I reducing'and indexing mechanism26 by a shaft 27.. The

gear reducing and indexing mechanism 26 drives a pinion 23cm a shaft 29which-isjjournaled in bearingsfit) and which is engaged withtheperiphery of the ring gear 19. It will thus be seen that when thedriving motor 25 is energized rotatable motion is imparted to the ringgear 19 which thereby revolves carrying the bracket 2th and the I rollof tape 22 in an annular path around and about the openings in which thecarton C is positioned.

Limit switches (not shown) are mounted on the circular frame 18 forengagement by the bracket 20 as it moves in its annular path. The limitswitches are used tocontrol the driving motor'25 so that the bracket 26will be repositioned at the uppermost portion of the circnlar frame 18at the completion of each cycle.

The transverse table-like section 12 does not extend through the machinefrom front to back but is separated by a gap, as best shown in Figure 2of the drawings, and about which the bracket 2t) and roll of tape 22pass in describing their annular passageway around and about the cartonpositioned on the transverse table-like section H.

A support member 51 is positioned on one portion of the transversetable-like section 12 and rotatably supports a shaft 32 which is drivenby an adjacently positioned secondary driving motor 33 by way of pulleys34 and 35 and a belt 36 which interconnects the same. The shaft 32 isthereby adapted to be revolved at such times as a limit switch engagedby the bracket 20 on the ring gear 19 energizes an electrical circuit(not shown) connected with the motor 33, and a pair of arms 3737 securedto the shaft 32 in spaced relation will thereby be revolved. The outerends of the arms 3737 are interconnected by a shaft 38 which in turncarries a roller 39 which is formed of resilient yieldable material. Thesurface of the roller 39 is serrated or knurled, as best illustrated inFigures 3 and 4 of the drawings.

A secondary roller 49 also having a serrated or knurled surface isrotatably positioned on the shaft 32 intermediate the ends of the arms37-37 which are secured thereon,

as aforesaid, and the tape T, after passing over the idler 23 on theoffset portion of the bracket 26, descends substantially vertically andis trained over the roller 40 with the adhesive side thereagainst. Insuch position, as best shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, thearms 373"/' are disposed slightly to the left of a vertical linethrough.

the roller 40 while the tape T descends on a line slightly to the rightof the same center line. 'When the motor 33 is energized, as aforesaid,the shaft 32 carrying the arms 3737 and the roller 39 revolves twocounterclockwise revolutions as seen in Figure 1 of the drawings(clockwise as seen in Figure 4 of the drawings), moving from theposition illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings, where the roller 39 isnear the top of its circular path, one complete revolution so as toengage the opposite side of the tape T 7 extending from the idler 23 tothe roller it ing the end of the tape to the lower right hand side ofthe carton; as seen in Figure l of the drawings.

As this occurs, the bracket 2t travels counterclockwise one revolutionthereby wrapping the tape T successively around the right side, top,left side and bottom of the carton and from the bottom of the cartonpassing beneath a and up and around the roller where the adhesive tapeagain sticks. The tape T is tightly Wrapped due to tension appliedthereto at the idler 23 which is spring tensionedso as to cause the tapeto pull tightly. Additional spring tension may be applied on the roll oftape 22 at the spindle 21, if desired, as by friction or spring meansknown in the art. 7

The roller?) completes its second revolution prior to of the drawings)with the exception that the tape T extends from the bottom of the cartonover to and around the lower right hand portion of the secondary roller40.

A cutting and wiping arm 41 secured at one end to a shaft 42 is movedthrough an are based thereon (as best shown in Fi ures 5, 6, and 7 ofthe drawings) upwardly toward the carton C where it engages the tape Textending from the bottom of the carton to the roller 40, severs thesame and at the same time wipes the end attached to the carton Cupwardly against the side of the carton and thereby overlaps the portionof the tape first applied thereto. The arm 41 is moved by a piston andcylinder assembly 43 which is pivoted at one of its ends to a mountingbracket 44 which in turn is carried on one of the vertical frame members11.

The piston rod of the piston and cylinder assembly 43 is providedadjacent its outermost end With a bifurcated end section 45 which isconnected by a pin 46 with one end of a lever 47 which in turn issecured to the shaft 42. The same source of air pressure (not shown)utilized by the machine for actuating the clamping piston and cylinder16 is utilized to actuate the piston and cylinder assembly 43'and itsaction is controlled by solenoid valves (not shown) in the air supplyline thereto and which in turn are controlled by limit switches engagedby the bracket 20 in its annular travel path around the carton.

The cutting and wiping arm 41 includes an offset portion 48 whichengages and cuts the tape T and which offset portion 48 also mounts asection of resilient material 49 which wipes upwardly and against thetape T to cause it to overlap the other end of the tape first applied tothe carton C, as best shown in Figure 7 of the drawings.

It will thus be seen that the sequence of operations performed by thewrapping machine comprises initially the clamping of the carton Or otherpackage positioned therein through the openings in the protective cage13 so that the carton spans the gap between the transverse tablelikesections i2i2, as seen in Figure 2 of the drawings, and so that therollers 39 and 40 are lined up substantially opposite the portion of thecarton about which the adhesive tape is to be wrapped.

The machine is initially actuated by an operator pressing a suitablecontrol switch (not shown) which initially actuates the motor 25 andstarts the ring gear 19 revolving which carries with it the bracket 2%and the roll of adhesive tape 22. As the bracket it) begins its circulartravel, it engages the aforementioned limit switches which energize thesecondary driving motor 33 and cause the shaft 32 to revolve whereby theend of the tape which had previously been secured to the roller 4%, asshown in Figure 3 of the drawings, is engaged on the opposite sidethereof, as shown in Figure 4- of the drawings, and moved over andpushed against the carton C so as to adhere thereto. It will be observedthat Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings are sectional views taken in theopposite direction from the view shown in Figure 1.

While this is occurring, the bracket 2d continues its revolution aboutthe carton C and returns to its position th reabove where it stops,having wrapped the right side, tc-pfleft side and bottom of the cartonC, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, and with the tape extendingoutwardly from the bottom of the carton, as seen in Figure 1, to theright and around the bottom and right hand side of the roller 4% towhich it is again adhered.

the tape T being positioned bctweenthe bottom of the Y carton and aroundthesecondary roller as so that the completion of the cycle findstlieparts in the same posinon as at the beginning of the c cle (as shown inFigure 1 At this stage of the wrapping cycle the piston and cylinder isactuated and momentarily causes the cutting and wiping arm to swing andcut the tape at a point adjacent the roller 49 and wipe the end thereofupwardly onto the side of the carton C and overlap the end initiallyapplied. The limit switches engaged by the bracket 2% in its annulartravel initiate these various actions and finally shut off the drivingmotor 25 and release the clamping cylinder 16. The carton C maythereafter be removed from the machine in suitably wrapped condition.

it will be observed that the particular points of novelty aeezeot in thedisclosure which are responsible for initially attaching the tape to theend of the carton are the arms 37 and the roller 39 carried betweentheir outermost ends. The roller 39 is of a resilient and yieldablenature so that when it defines its two revolutions it first strikes thecarton and theroller 39 yields to permit the arms to pass the carton andas it completes its first revolution it engages the opposite non-tackyside of the adhesive tape, and in its second revolution forcibly engagesthe tape against the side of the carton. It will be remembered that thefree end of the tape is still adhering to the roller $0 (as shown inFigure 4 of the drawings) when the tape is first moved by the roller 39onto the side of the carton, the subsequent motion thereof freeing theend from the roller 40, as best shown in detail in Figure 4 wherein t-hetape is shown in dotted lines in its initial position and in solid linesin its applied position.

Modifications in the structure for resiliently or yieldably engaging thecarton with the end of the tape will occur to those skilled in the artand one such modification is hereinafter set forth. Figure 8 of thedrawings shows a perspective view of a portion of a wrapping machine somodified. In Figure 8 of the drawings a shaft 50A is adapted to berotated by the secondary driving motor 33 in a counter-clockwisedirection so that spaced parallel arms 51-51 secured thereto revolvethereabout and carry a shaft 52 between their outermost ends which inturn has a U-shaped frame 53 pivotally mounted thereon with coil springs54-54 positioned about the shaft 52 intermediate the U-shaped frame 53and the arms 51 with their ends secured to these members, respectively,and whereby the U-shaped frame 53 is urged to a position wherein thearms are in spaced parallel position with the arms 51-51 as shown inFigure 8 of the drawings.

A resilient roller 55 is iournaled between the ends of the arms of theU-shaped frame 53 and is a counterpart of the resilient roller 39heretofore referred to. The tape T is passed over the tension roller 23Athe same as that heretofore referred to on the offset portion of thebracket 20 and downwardly and over a roller 40A which is the counterpartof the roller 40, heretofore referred to. Counterclockwise revolvingmotion of the shaft 50A thus moves the roller 55 over and intoengagement with the carton C Where the roller 55 follows a vertical pathrather than a circular path based on the axis of the shaft 50A. Duringits second revolution it pushes the tape T over and against the carton Cand the spring tension occasioned by the coil springs 5454- and theresilient nature of the roller 55 cause the tape to adhere tightly 'otthe side of the carton C. The tape is then wrapped the remainder of theway around the carton as previously described and the cycle is completedafter the cutoff and wipe-on of the tape which leaves the next sectionof tape with its end portion secured to the roller 40A exactly asdescribed in the preferred embodiment of the invention.

It will thus be seen that the several objects of the invention have beenmet by the package wrapping machine disclosed herein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a package wrapping machine, means for receiving an object to bewrapped, said means having a circular pathway thereabout and comprisinga. frame having a ring gear rotatably mounted therein, means forrevolving said ring gear and a bracket on said ring gear for rotatablysupporting a roll of adhesive tape, a device positioned in said machineadjacent said circular pathway for applying an end portion of said tapeto said object to be wrapped, said device including a rotatable shaft,means for rotating said shaft, said rotatable shaft having a rollerthereon, the adhesive side of one end of said tape from said roll beingadhered to said roller, a secondary roller mounted in spaced parallelrelation to said roller on arms carried by said shaft and movable bysaid shaft in a circle thereabout, said circle intersecting said objectto be Wrapped whereby revolving motion of said shaft will move saidsecondary roller around said circle into initial engagement with saidobject to be wrapped and then against the non-adhesive side of said tapeintermediate said first mentioned roller and said roll of tape to movesaid tape to engage said end of said tape on said object to be wrappedand simultaneously pull the same free from said first mentioned rollerwhile said ring gear, bracket and roll of tape thereon revolve aboutsaid object to be wrapped, reciprocally mounted means for engaging andcutting said tape between said object to be wrapped and said firstmentioned roller and for engaging said tape and wiping the end thereofonto said object to be wrapper in overlapping relation to the end ofsaid tape first applied thereto.

2. The improvement in a package wrapping machine set forth in claim 1and wherein said reciprocally mounted means comprises an arm having atape cutter and resilient wiper blade on one end thereof, a shaft, saidarm secured to said shaft and means for moving said shaft back and forthin an oscillating motion.

3. The improvement in a package wrapping machine set forth in claim 1and wherein said secondary roller is formed of resilient and yieldablematerial.

4. The improvement in a package wrapping machine set forth in claim 1and wherein said rollers are formed of longitudinally ribbed rubber.

5. The improvement in a package wrapping machine set forth in claim 1and wherein control means are disposed on said frame to be engageable bysaid bracket on said ring gear and wherein said means for rotating saidshaft and said means for revolving said ring gear are responsive inoperation to said control means;

6. The improvement in a package wrapping machine set forth in claim 1and wherein said arms carried by said shaft and supporting saidsecondaryroller comprise two-part arms having resilient means interconnecting thesame normally urging said two-part arms into coplanar relation.

No references cited.

